It really takes a while for this movie to get rolling. As it starts with Eric and Patti meeting, getting married and all the mushy stuff. But then Eric has a flashback and collapses to Patti's shock. Eric starts acting odd, and won't discuss his problems with Patti. So she finally goes to his veterans club and confronts an old army buddy to explain what Eric went through during WWII. The flashbacks and recollections start to become more revealed, as Eric becomes more withdrawn with everything. Learning his torturer now conducts tours on the Burma railway Eric and other soldiers suffered from in it's construction - the nightmare must be killed finally. It gets gripping and emotional by the ending, but takes a LONG time to get there. And for me, the movie seemed predictable from the get go. Though I think Nicole Kidman's a great actress, she seemed wrong for the part to me? And Colin Firth is a great actor as well. But his brooding scenes seemed a little too drawn out. Jeremy Irvine as the younger Eric is really the go to in this movie. Though with the impromptu flash backs, it's somewhat hard to keep the timelines and progression in focus. All in all, it's a worthwhile movie to see. It's a good depiction of the hell captured British soldiers were put through. And doesn't make the Japanese out as total sadistic monsters. The paranoia and fear on both sides and within are what's often missing from most war movies. And this does an amicable job in establishing that fact.
Just takes a seemingly long time to get there.
Just takes a seemingly long time to get there.